The Citizen and the Vagabond

Name: The Citizen and the Vagabond
Price: 270 AUD
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ISBN: 9781517920609

A Politics of Mobility

Tim Cresswell

$270

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

University of Minnesota Press
24 June 2026

Social theory; Human geography

An expansive treatise on the power relations that govern our movement

The Citizen and the Vagabond develops a theoretical approach to the study of mobility and its relationship to the production, maintenance, and transformation of social and cultural hierarchies. Expanding upon his foundational work on the subject, Tim Cresswell examines human movement from around the globe to better understand the various forms of inequality and injustice that shape our lives.

Establishing a framework for movement in terms of rhythm, speed, routes, and friction, Cresswell extends these themes to address the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, exploring what this turbulent period reveals to us about the politics of mobility. He demonstrates that while flexibility and ease of movement are typically considered markers of personal freedom, increased mobility brings with it new modes of control and surveillance. As he investigates the hierarchies and embodied experiences that emerge amid these tensions, Cresswell employs two figures: the citizen, whose mobility within and across borders is expected and accepted, and the vagabond, whose perpetual mobility is deemed suspect and in need of ordering.

In conversation with the work of theorists such as Mimi Sheller, Zygmunt Bauman, Paul Virilio, Henri Lefebvre, Ivan Illich, and Anna Tsing, Cresswell reaches beyond geography to incorporate insights from the humanities and social sciences. An interdisciplinary intervention into the study of mobility and citizenship, The Citizen and the Vagabond provides a new set of coordinates from which to grasp the shifting dynamics of movement and power.

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By: Tim Cresswell
Imprint: University of Minnesota Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 140mm, Spine: 17mm
Weight: 482g
ISBN: 9781517920609
ISBN 10: 1517920604
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 24 June 2026
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Tim Cresswell is Ogilvie Professor of Geography at the University of Edinburgh and author of several books, including On the Move: Mobility in the Modern Western World and In Place/Out of Place: Geography, Ideology, and Transgression (Minnesota, 1996).

Reviews for The Citizen and the Vagabond: A Politics of Mobility

""Eminently readable and beautifully organized, The Citizen and the Vagabond lends sparkle and interest to topics as granular as transportation, logistics, and airline queues. Tim Cresswell's approach is refreshing and inspiring, driven by a sense of politics and critical analysis that shows the deep power inequalities and injustices shaping our world."" — Mimi Sheller, author of Advanced Introduction to Mobilities ""With engaging and inviting writing, Tim Cresswell combines sharp thinking, rich materials, and an eye for incredible stories in some unlikely places to speak widely to societal concerns. A profound way of thinking about and making sense of the politics of mobility today, The Citizen and the Vagabond is a stunning analysis."" — Peter Adey, author of Evacuation: The Politics and Aesthetics of Movement in Emergency